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Showing results for "charades"

charades

British  
/ ʃəˈrɑːdz /

noun

  1. (functioning as singular) a parlour game in which one team acts out each syllable of a word, the other team having to guess the word

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of charades

C18: from French charade entertainment, from Provençal charrado chat, from charra chatter, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Instead, they take turns to silently perform a series of moves and poses that look, to the untrained eye, as if they are playing charades or, as they writhe on the ground, breakdancing.

From Barron's Aug. 22, 2026

In playing charades with our friends, for example, we aim to prevail, but only in fun.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 15, 2026

"We divided attendees into groom and bride's teams and organised games like charades and guessing who the relative is from a stereotype," said CEO Anurag Pandey.

From BBC Aug. 3, 2025

David Patrick Kelly as King Sextimus the Silent spends much of his stage time engaged in a series of charades.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 16, 2024

It must have been half past five in the morning, well after several delirious games of cards and charades that had been brought on by too much candy and too little sleep.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

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